Nintendolife Review Octopath Traveler
9/10 - "the game does a fantastic job of straddling that line of accessibility and depth, satisfying both camps with its dizzying amount of content"nintendolife.com impressions gamingeek

Octopath Traveler is truly a charming and wonderful J-RPG that has reminded me that there's still a place for old classics. Some might call it dated, I'd call it ageless and even peerless when held up against a recent generation of watered down, Westernised role-playing games. Square Enix delivers a nuanced, tactical game and an endearing cast to boot. 8/10

Nintendo Life:

Octopath Traveler is a special RPG, the kind of game that keeps an eye on the past while walking bravely into the future. Indeed, we'd even go so far as to say this is the best RPG you can find on the Switch to date, all elements of this game link together perfectly to make for a harmonious and immersing experience that you'll find difficult to put down. We'd recommend Octopath Traveler to both fans and newcomers of RPGs; the game does a fantastic job of straddling that line of accessibility and depth, satisfying both camps with its dizzying amount of content. Classic-inspired gameplay, an orchestrated soundtrack, and a unique approach to storytelling make this a game that you won't want to miss. This is an absolute must buy. 9/10

RPG Site:

Octopath Traveler is an excellent game, but the elasticity of its structure proves to be the one unassailable hurdle between it and becoming a classic in its own right. 7/10

Octopath Traveler is a small triumph in that it mostly delivers on its promise to give us eight stories worth seeing through. None of them push the envelope in any way, and several drag, but that's not a huge issue when you have so many to choose from. Even if you skip one or several tales altogether you're still going to get a handful of RPG goodness. 7.5/10

Gameblog:

Ocotpath Traveler is a strong entry to the old-school J-RPG genre, even though its classicism may forbid it to reach the greatest titles its taking inspiration from. As simple as solid, this retro adventure features enough mecanics to offer a deep fighting system, well-balanced and which brillantly avoids countless levelling sessions. Too bad Octopath Traveler's narrative simply serves us eight not-so-much-connected stories, otherwise it could have been an instant classic. 8/10

Shacknews:

Too many developers have tried and failed to capture the nostalgic and often magical feelings that players have for the JRPG genre. Pared-down retro releases and fluffed-up remakes come and go, yet none of them seem to get things exactly right. Fortunately, Octopath Traveler succeeds where other classically-styled RPGs fail: the presentation is spot-on, the combat is addictive, and tThe potential for party customization is tremendous. Small stumbles with dialog and framerate can be forgiven simply because the rest of the game is an absolute delight. This is an experience that players can easily get lost in for dozens of hours, and it's sure to be counted among the best Nintendo Switch exclusives released to date. 8/10

Kotaku:

Octopath Traveler is a beautiful game with one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard. The combat system rocks and will hopefully be used in more Square Enix games to come. There are plenty of good ideas in here. But the game is too grindy, too repetitive, too full of structural problems to be viewed as much more than another botched JRPG experiment.

Twinfinite:

Octopath Traveler feels like a much more personal collection of tales that might go against what you'd typically expect from a JRPG. More than anything else, the way the characters fall together feels like coincidence rather than providence, and the game is far more concerned with telling intimate stories about grief, friendship, adventure, and redemption. You might not get to save the world, but there's joy to be had from just helping out someone in a bind and learning more about the deep history of Orsterra as you go. For what it sets out to do, Octopath Traveler excels. 9/10

EuroGamer:

Another fine turn-based battle system and some charming dialogue and visuals make up for an occasionally dry ensemble campaign.

Metro GameCentral:

A fantastic balancing act between old and new, creating a Japanese role-player that's full of charm, innovative ideas, and clever nods to the past. 8/10

VideoGamer:

Octopath Traveler is a deep, diverse, interesting, sometimes risque and sometimes funny JRPG that you should play. 8/10

GameMag:

Octopath Traveler is an atmospheric game with unusual graphics, which suffers from a number of strange design and story solutions, as well as problems with interface and many minor flaws. There's also a lot of grinding, and that's may be a big dissapointment for many gamers. If you are not against grinding, try Octopath Traveler. 7/10

VG247:

So that’s Octopath Traveler: a beautiful, challenging and often utterly brilliant throwback to the golden age of Japanese RPGs that somehow scuppers its chances of being a true classic through an ambitious but ultimately flawed narrative structure. That open-ended story design pushes the game to be grind-heavy and, worse, fails to do its world, characters or the rest of the game in general justice. Hardcore and lapsed Japanese RPG fans should absolutely look into this, as it’s a joyous experience for anybody who remembers that magical era for console RPGs in the mid to late 90s – but a true, perfect successor to those seminal games this is not.

Digitally Downloaded:

Octopath Traveler is a beautiful game that somehow never gets tired. 10/10

God is a Geek:

Octopath Traveler feels like a gem from the golden age of JRPGs that is something I've been craving with stunning visuals, music that deserves a vinyl release, and so much more. 8.5/10

Nice trailer Brings back the memories. Great visuals now, better than the reveal. Nice and clean and true to the Pokemon art style. Pokemon Yellow was my first Pokemon game and I would find it very hard to resist getting this.

The Pokémon Company International and Nintendo provided further details on the highly anticipated games Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, releasing later this year on the Nintendo Switch™ system.

Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! will both feature a variety of exclusive Pokémon which are unique to each game. In Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! Trainers will be able to capture Pokémon including Oddish, Sandshrew and Growlithe; while players of Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! will be able to capture Pokémon such as Bellsprout, Vulpix and Meowth.

At the start of players’ adventures, they will receive their first partner Pokémon, either Pikachu or Eevee. Unlike regular Pokémon, their first partner Pokémon is not interested in evolving and instead prefers to stay out of its Poké Ball. It will travel with players throughout their journey by hanging on their shoulder or riding on their head. Players can become best friends with their Pikachu or Eevee and can pet, feed and even tickle them. Not only that, but players can dress up their Trainer and partner Pokémon in a wide variety of cool and cute outfits, accessories and even hairstyles to become the perfect style duo with their new best friend.

As players travel throughout the Kanto region, they will meet some familiar faces as well as a few new ones. Professor Oak returns, alongside a new Rival, to present the Pokédex—a high-tech encyclopedia that records data on any new species of Pokémon that players catch in the games. Players will be able to battle Gym leaders across Kanto, including fan favourites Brock, the Gym Leader of Pewter City, and Misty, the Gym Leader of Cerulean City, as they strive to become the Pokémon League champion. In-game Pokémon Trainers aren’t the only ones who can be battled. Players will be able to connect with other players online* or via local wireless communication between Nintendo Switch consoles to enjoy intense Pokémon battles. They will also be able to trade Pokémon with each other using these communication features to help complete their Pokédex.

For the first time in a mainline Pokémon game, two people can now play together on one system! By shaking a second Joy-Con, another player can join the fray. There are some real benefits to adventuring together as well, including making it easier to catch Pokémon and even battling against tough Trainers as a tag team in Pokémon battles. Grab a friend, explore Kanto and experience an adventure like no other.

The Poké Ball Plus is a device that can be used to play Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! in place of a Joy-Con or alongside Pokémon GO instead of the Pokémon GO Plus**. The Poké Ball Plus also allows players to bring one of their Pokémon from Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! or Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! with them as they explore the real world. The Mythical Pokémon Mew will be available in the Poké Ball Plus, and players will be able to transfer it to their version of these new games.*** The Poké Ball Plus will be available to purchase separately at retail alongside Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! on November 16.

*In order to use the internet-based communication features for battling and trading, players will need to enrol in the paid Nintendo Switch Online service that officially launches in September.

** Using as a Pokémon GO Plus requires installation of the Pokémon GO application on a compatible smartphone. See www.pokemongo.com for details.

***At the time of its release, Poké Ball Plus will only be compatible as a controller for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee! It cannot be used for other Nintendo Switch software titles.

Interesting video. Basically saying for any kind of huge graphical jump over the Pro and X, it would have to be a very expensive console. So the gpu jump will likely be similar to the jump from Xbox one S, to X. The real jump next gen, will be in the CPU non-visual side of things.